But while deBary certainly knows — and loves — his spirits, he also firmly believes that you don’t need alcohol to make a great cocktail. After leaving Momofuku in 2018, he launched Proteau, a line of non-alcoholic botanical beverages, and published Drink What You Want, a recipe book with a full booze-free chapter. And deBary is practicing what he preaches — he decided not to drink alcohol in 2020, a pledge that he kept despite the challenges of quarantine. “I actually found that I rarely missed it,” he said. “There are so many ways to create unique and exciting drinks without relying on the traditional tools.”